Ultrasound bus clashes with Elgin zoning law

Operators of mobile pregnancy services say new ordinance is an effort to thwart its faith-based mission

April 15, 2013|By Lisa Black, Chicago Tribune reporter

Dr. Ronald Winters prepares the ultrasound unit inside the RV used by TLC Pregnancy Services. The RV has run afoul of Elgin's zoning laws. “It’s a free medical clinic. I don’t know how people can be against that,” said Winters, a longtime supporter of anti-abortion efforts in Kane County. (Antonio Perez, Chicago Tribune)

Every Tuesday, the remodeled RV sets up shop outside an Elgin bar along a busy thoroughfare, where students at a nearby high school are likely to see its sign: "Think you are pregnant?"

Some days, five girls stop by. Other days, none.

Those who venture in might find Dr. Ronald Winters, 79, a retired physician who bought the used recreational vehicle for $26,000 for TLC Pregnancy Services, a local nonprofit group for which he volunteers. He tore out its back bedroom and furnished it with an ultrasound machine, exam table and video screen. He kept the couches in front for counseling and comfort, with brochures and Christian literature available.

The girls call it the "ultrasound bus," easily recognized from the outside by a picture of a woman's face, eyes cast pensively downward. Workers call it a mobile ultrasound facility, where they also offer free pregnancy tests, prenatal vitamins and referrals for sexually transmitted diseases.

Winters and other supporters of the faith-based ministry mince no words about their ultimate goal — to prevent abortion through education and images that show young women and girls their developing babies. Now, they say, the city of Elgin is thwarting their mission with a new zoning ordinance.

"It's a free medical clinic. I don't know how people can be against that," said Winters, a longtime supporter of anti-abortion efforts in Kane County. As medical director, his work ranges from reviewing the ultrasound images taken on the bus to repairing equipment.

The group has operated out of an east Elgin office since 1996, and began sending its mobile ministry to Elgin's west side in 2010 in an effort to reach more low-income women, organizers said. The group also opened another west side clinic a year ago. But now, they say, the city is jeopardizing their work because of a zoning ordinance change made last year that limits the number of days they can park the vehicle in the same place.

The Life Center Inc., the group's not-for-profit founding organization, has sued the city in federal court, alleging that the city is violating religious and free-speech rights. The lawsuit also claims the city is infringing on the rights of women to be informed about their pregnancies, and on the rights of unborn children to "begin life with a sound mind and body."

Elgin officials deny the allegations and say they were simply updating an ordinance on temporary uses last June. They say there were not targeting Life Center with this law and point out that it affects other businesses as well, such as mobile food vendors.

Elgin Mayor David Kaptain, when asked if city officials amended the ordinance in order to restrict the ultrasound bus hours, responded: "No. Absolutely, no." He referred furtherquestions to city administrators, who declined to answer questions, citing the lawsuit.

Zoning stirs controversy

From outward appearances, the dispute in Elgin is about zoning.

But nationally, it touches on deep-seated divisions over how to handle teen pregnancies, a struggle well-known in Elgin. School District U-46, which has no affiliation with the mobile ultrasound group, tracked 114 teen pregnancies during the 2011-12 school year, a district spokesman said.

For years, faith-based crisis pregnancy centers have proliferated in cities that are also home to abortion providers. The mobile ultrasound units are a more recent phenomenon, gaining ground over the past five years, with about 30 operating nationwide, supporters estimate.

Nationally known anti-abortion groups like the Pro-Life Action League estimate there are as many as 4,000 pregnancy resource centers in the U.S. Prominent pro-choice groups acknowledge that such numbers, though not formally tracked, would far eclipse the number of abortion providers or clinics.

Typically, the crisis pregnancy centers meet less formal opposition than abortion providers; some outside Illinois even receive state funding.

In Aurora, abortion opponents tried to prevent the opening of a Planned Parenthood facility by citing zoning law, but lost. Planned Parenthood opened its 22,000-square-foot clinic in 2007.

Under Elgin's new law, the ultrasound bus would no longer be able to park one day a week, year-round at the same location, as it has done in the past through its city permit. Instead, the bus would onlybe allowed to parkat the same location during four 15-day blocks of time each calendar year.

It's unclear what prompted the council to amend the ordinance last summer. A city development official is quoted in planning commission meeting minutes as saying the definition of "temporary use" had been too broad.

For now, the ultrasound bus, recently granted a temporary court reprieve, opens at least once weekly in the parking lot of the Evangelical Covenant Church of Elgin, as well as outside J.B.'s Pub & Pietro's Pasta. Property owners at both locations have given their approval.